SPECULATION is mounting that York City Knights starlet Greg Minikin is poised to join Castleford Tigers.

The Super League club are refusing to comment on rumours that the 20-year-old centre is to pen a two-year full-time contract but The Press understands a deal is all but agreed.

The good news for the Knights is that the switch will happen at the end of the year, meaning he will stay with them for the remainder of this season and help with their promotion ambitions.

There is also a chance he could return to the club next year on dual-registration if he does not break into the Tigers' first team immediately, assuming the two clubs continue with their dual-reg partnership.

Knights boss James Ford, like the Tigers, offered no comment on the speculation, but he has long since hailed the youngster's "Super League potential", having previously coached him in the under-18s and U20s reserves at Huntington Stadium.

After another starring performance by Minikin in Sunday's 70-10 win at Hemel, which lifted the Knights to fourth in League One, Ford said: "He's very athletic, well-balanced, strong and quick. He's got a great work ethic and he improves every week.

"He's becoming a smarter person as well. He's got the tools to succeed at the top level if he continues learning and improving."

The Press has previously reported that several Super League clubs - including St Helens, Wigan and Wakefield - have been tracking his progress, with Castleford upping their interest in recent weeks.

Saints skipper Jon Wilkin described Minikin as "outstanding" after their Challenge Cup tie against York in May, adding: "How he’s not in Super League I don’t know."

Minikin has since won The Press Player of the Month award for May and currently tops The Press Player of the Year standings.

Ford, himself a three-quarter who played at Super League level for Cas, added: "Greg is miles better than I was at his age. He's better now at 20 than I was ever."

Minikin signed pro terms with York at the end of 2012 and made his first-team debut in the Challenge Cup tie at Catalan Dragons in May 2013, going on to make four appearances that year, twice taking Ford's place at centre and scoring one try. He played 12 times last year, bagging four tries, as he battled niggling injuries, and this year he has missed only one match, scoring ten tries in 15 outings.

Meanwhile, The Press understands Lee Waterman has now been released by the Knights, four matches and three tries after his much-heralded return to the club from Doncaster in April.

After being axed by Ford for a "very minor breach of club discipline", the player cited work and family commitments for his desire to leave again.

A move back to Doncaster, now coached by ex-York boss Gary Thornton, was being mooted but it was thought the Knights wanted a fee.

Ford has confirmed that another recent recruit, Scott Glassell, has also left the club, following Jack Iley out of the exit door.

Glassell, a leading amateur player, made only two appearances after signing from Featherstone Lions.

Iley was in his third season at the club after arriving from Featherstone Rovers but in that time started only two games, with 14 appearances off the bench, being pretty luckless with injuries in his first two years and struggling to nail down a shirt this term.

Ford said of the utility forward: "We thank Jack for his time at the club and his hard work. He had bad luck with injuries and he's fallen down the pecking order. His game-time would have been limited, especially with us no longer having the reserves, and we didn't want to stop him playing so released him. We wish him all the best.

"Scott was struggling to commit to training with his family and work commitments and we just decided it was best to release him."